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Southern California’s most powerful water agency said Monday it has struck a $175 million deal to buy five islands in the heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a move that has sparked accusations throughout the Delta and Northern California of a south-state “water grab.”

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California revealed the details of its agreement to buy the islands from Delta Wetlands Properties, a company controlled by Swiss financial services conglomerate Zurich Insurance Group.

April showers that fell over the weekend are likely to occur again in Northern California starting Wednesday night.

A low-pressure system from the Gulf of Alaska is predicted to push a fast-moving cold front southward through the north state, according to the National Weather Service. The return of showers is expected to continue through Thursday.

But the system is likely to deliver only a tenth to two-tenths of an inch of rain to the Sacramento area, said Tom Dang, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The Interior Department’s inspector general has opened an investigation into possible funding irregularities involving the proposed delta tunnels, a $15 billion plan to dig giant twin pipes to siphon water directly from the Sacramento River and send it underground to farms and cities in the southern part of the state.

The decision, made public Monday, came after a nonprofit called Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility filed a complaint alleging that federal money intended to go for fish and wildlife was spent instead on planning for the tunnels.

Thanks in part to El Niño, snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is greater than it has been in years. With the winter snowfall season winding down, California officials said that the pack peaked two weeks ago at 87 percent of the long-term average.

That’s far better than last year, when it was just 5 percent of normal and Gov. Jerry Brown announced restrictions on water use after four years of severe drought. But the drought is still far from over, especially in Southern California, where El Niño did not bring many major storms.

San Francisco intellectuals are noted for attacking Central Valley farmers, Sierra lumbermen and Los Angeles for environmental crimes.The most enduring symbol of hatred for the San Francisco environmental crowd is dams. They represent everything supposedly evil about modern-day California. They contend the huge concrete structures destroy wild rivers, flood pristine canyons and spur urban growth where it shouldn’t occur.

The San Francisco crowd’s favorite whipping boy is Los Angeles. They detest what Los Angeles has done in the name of water development, specifically with the Owens Valley and Mono Lake.